Court Rules

The below amendment(s) have been made to this instrument which can be viewed by clicking on the link(s):

No12-S.I. No. 598 Of 2014: District Court (General) Rules 2014
No12-S.I. No. 167 Of 2018: District Court (Extension Of Time) Rules 2018

Related link
S.I. No. 17 of 2014 - provisions overview

1 — GENERAL

1 Division of duties among Clerks

1. (1) Where more than one Clerk is assigned to a Court area, every such Clerk assigned is competent to perform all and any of the duties of a Clerk of the Court.

(2) The Principal Clerk or Chief Clerk, may divide the duties of the Clerk among the several Clerks assigned to a Court area or Court district, as he or she thinks proper.

2 Minute Book and record of decisions

2. (1) The Clerk for each Court area must keep a book, to be known as the Minute Book, in which must be entered all the cases, other than those in which particulars of the offences are entered on charge sheets, which are for hearing at sittings of the Court for that Court area.

(2) To enable effect to be given to the decision of the Court and to enable an order to be drawn up if required, the Judge must, on pronouncing his or her decision, cause a memorandum of that decision to be made in the minute book or charge sheet, as appropriate, and the Clerk must attach a note of the decision to the relevant court-file. No alteration may be made to the Judge’s memorandum except by the Judge who made it.

3 Practice and procedure in Dublin Metropolitan District

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of these Rules, any practice or procedure now in force in the Dublin Metropolitan District may continue in that Court district either in addition to or in substitution for any practice or procedure prescribed by these Rules.

4 Hearings otherwise than in public

4. Where the hearing of any application is required by law to be held otherwise than in public or the hearing of any application or evidence is directed to be held otherwise than in public or with certain persons excluded from the Court, and the hearing would in the opinion of the Judge be more conveniently and expeditiously disposed of in Chambers than in Court, the hearing may be held and any such application made to and determined by the Judge in Chambers.

2 — RECOGNISANCES

5 Recognisances by bodies corporate

5. (1) A body corporate may, in any case in which a recognisance is required by these Rules, enter into the recognisance by its agent (who must be a director, manager or other responsible officer of the body corporate) duly authorised for that purpose.

(2) The authority given to an agent to enter a recognisance for a body corporate must empower the agent to bind the body corporate to perform and comply with all and any of the conditions of the recognisance and must acknowledge the legal liability of the body corporate in the event of its failing to perform or comply with any condition of the recognisance.

(3) A copy of a resolution of the board of directors or the managing committee of the body corporate purporting to be signed by the chairman for the time being of the board or committee must be taken to be prima facie evidence of the appointment and authority of the agent.

(4) The Court may, if it thinks fit, exempt a body corporate from the necessity for entering into a recognisance.

6 Exemptions from entering into recognisance

6. Any provision of these Rules requiring an appellant to the Circuit Court or an applicant for a case stated to enter into a recognisance does not apply to:

(a) the Attorney General;

(b) the Director of Public Prosecutions;

(c) the National Consumer Agency;

(d) any Minister of the Government or any Minister of State or officer of either such Minister;

(e) an officer or member of the Garda Síochána acting in an official capacity, or

(f) an officer of the Revenue Commissioners acting in an official capacity.

3 — SCHEDULES AND FORMS

7 Schedules are part of these Rules

7. The schedules to these Rules must be taken to be part of the Rules and all forms in the Schedules must be deemed valid and sufficient in law, and are the proper forms to be used, even when other and different forms are provided by any enactment under which the proceedings are brought.

8 Departure or omission does not vitiate form if content sufficient in substance

8. No departure from any prescribed form, or omission of any of the particulars required by any prescribed form, or use of words other than those indicated in any prescribed form, vitiates or makes void the proceedings or matter to which the form relates, if the form or the words is, in the opinion of the Court, otherwise sufficient in substance and effect.

9 Reference to and modification of forms

9. (1) Where mention is made in these Rules of a form immediately followed by a number and a Schedule, the reference is to be read as a reference to a form denoted by that number in the Schedule concerned.

(2) Every reference to a form must be construed to mean a reference to such modification of the form concerned as may be suitable for use in the particular proceeding or matter.

(3) It is sufficient in any form to state sums of money, dates and other numbers either in figures or in words.

(4) Where no form is provided by statute or by rules of Court the parties or the Court may frame the form, using as guides the forms contained in the Schedules to these Rules.

4 — MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

10 Abridgements, amendments, etc in criminal proceedings

10. (1) Subject to and in accordance with any provision of statute, a Judge may in any criminal proceedings:

(a) whenever he or she thinks fit abridge or extend the time provided by these Rules for the service or lodgment for entry of any summons, provided that a note of the abridgement or extension of the time for service must be endorsed on the original summons and on the copy issued for service and must be signed by the Judge;

(b) amend any summons.

(2) Notwithstanding sub-rule (1), any application to state a case under section 2 of the Summary Jurisdiction Act 1857 must be made within the time prescribed by that Act.

11 Issue of duplicate Court instruments in criminal proceedings

11. Where it appears to the Court that an original order or warrant in criminal proceedings has been lost or destroyed or that the same is improperly in the hands of the opposite party or of a person not entitled to it, or that it is unavailable to the parties by reason of its being in the hands of the County Registrar, Governor of a prison or other officer entitled to hold the same, the Court may issue a duplicate of the order or warrant. Application for such duplicate shall be made on forty-eight hours' notice to the opposite party and to the Clerk. Where the Judge permits the issue of the duplicate, there shall be clearly written or stamped upon the face of the same the word “Duplicate”.

12 How notice may be given to a Garda Superintendent

12. Where under these Rules notice is required to be given to a Superintendent of the Garda Síochána the notice may be given by leaving the notice with the Superintendent or with the officer in charge of the Garda Síochána station for which the Superintendent acts or by forwarding the notice by prepaid post to the Superintendent and, in the case of notice by post, the notice is deemed to be received on the day of the actual receipt of the notice by the Superintendent.

13 All notices to be in writing

13. All notices required by these Rules to be given in criminal proceedings must be in writing unless expressly authorised by the Court to be otherwise given.

14 Court to determine practice where not prescribed

14. Where no provision is made in any statute or these Rules governing practice and procedure in a particular criminal proceeding, the Court may adopt such procedure as it consider appropriates consistently with the requirements of justice.

15 Effect of non-compliance

15. Subject to any provision of an enactment, non-compliance with these Rules does not render any criminal proceedings void, but in case of non-compliance, the Court may direct that the proceedings be treated as void, or that they be set aside in part as irregular, or that they be amended or otherwise dealt with in such manner and on such terms consistent with statute as the Court thinks fit.